Kennedy, Kemp get Medal of Freedom

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Kelly O'DonnellThe White House awarded 16 Medals of Freedom today to a group that included -- from the world of politics -- Sen. Ted Kennedy and Jack Kemp, as well as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"I am profoundly grateful to President Obama for this extraordinary honor," Kennedy

said in a statement. "My life has been committed to the ideal of public service which President Kennedy wanted the Medal of Freedom to represent. To receive it from another President who prizes that same ideal of service and inspires so many to serve is a great privilege that moves me deeply."